The milestone coincides with the start of the 25th anniversary of Hot Summer Fun
Mohegan Sun Arena celebrated the kickoff of Hot Summer Fun – the start of more than 250 live entertainment events in honor of Hot Summer Fun’s 25th Anniversary this summer – by reaching an incredible milestone of 14 million total guests in the Arena’s history since first opening in 2001.
Friday’s New Kids on the Block Mixtape Tour with En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa, and Rick Astley isthe first of back-to-back sold-out shows in Mohegan Sun Arena this weekend and was the show that put the Arena across the 14-million mark. Tom Cantone, President of Sports Entertainment for Mohegan, celebrated the historic milestone with New Kids on the Block members Donnie Wahlberg, Joey McIntyre, Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, and Danny Wood before their sold-out show that evening.
“Every million milestone is a tribute to the men and women who run the Arena and is the reason why so many artists want to come here and even start their tours here,” said Tom Cantone, President of Sports and Entertainment for Mohegan.
Mohegan Sun Arena has hosted more than 14 million guests since opening in 2001, and in this span, 27 major tours have started their tours at Mohegan Sun Arena. In all, Mohegan Sun Arena has been home to more than 3,500 paid events and counting in its history so far.
“It’s a major achievement to surpass 14 million guests in what has become one of the busiest and most popular arenas in the world,” said Jeff Hamilton, President and General Manager of Mohegan Sun. “From the Gatti-Ward ‘Fight of the Century’ to 20 years of action-packed CT Sun games, unforgettable sold-out performances by the likes of Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, and so many more, our entertainment team continually knocks it out of the park.”
While concerts and major tours often headline the Arena, Mohegan Sun Arena has hosted major sporting events like college and professional basketball, championship boxing, MMA and WWE, professional lacrosse, tennis, billiards, and bowling.
In 2003, Mohegan Sun made headlines as the first non-NBA owner of a WNBA team with the acquisition of the Connecticut Sun. The Sun, who are celebrating their 20th franchise anniversary this season, first made their debut at Mohegan Sun Arena in May 2003, and have since had the honor of hosting events like the WNBA draft, All-Star games, and WNBA Finals games.
Some of the Arena’s most memorable performances include Jennifer Lopez, Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney, Jay-Z, Fleetwood Mac, Britney Spears, Prince, Bruno Mars, Luke Combs, Keith Urban, Justin Timberlake, and Beyoncé. In addition, Mohegan Sun Arena hosted Billy Joel’s first-ever residency that drew more than 100,000 people. Mohegan Sun Arena has also hosted top-touring stand-up comedy acts like Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Kevin James, and Sebastian Maniscalco.
Mohegan Sun Arena hosted its first live event on October 21, 2001 – an NBA preseason basketball match-up between the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards which featured Michael Jordan competing on the floor as a Wizard. A few weeks later, Tim McGraw took the stage as the first-ever concert at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Mohegan Sun Arena first reached 10 million total guests in November 2015 during a Toby Keith concert.
Mohegan Sun Arena finished 2021 with its first “#1 Indoor Arena” ranking for its capacity in the world according to Pollstar and VenuesNow, ranked among the top 10 venues in the U.S. regardless of size based on ticket sales, and was named “2021 Innovator of the Year” by Celebrity Access for its ViacomCBS residency. In recent years, the “Most Beloved Venue in America” has also been the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven – time national award – winner for “Arena of the Year.” For more information on concerts and other great events, visit Mohegan Sun. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711.
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